Parking
Use Brockhole on Windermere's main car park off the A591, starting at its lower end by the adventure playground. Disabled bays are near the playground and visitor centre. Postcode LA23 1QB; grid reference NY 38980 00906.
Overview
About Brockhole Lakeshore Loop
Why go
- Step-free access to the lakeshore
- Gardens, jetty and facilities in one short loop
Heads up
- Visitor-centre grounds rather than wild fell walking
- The optional climb to the visitor centre is steeper
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Lake District map
Full mapElevation39–69 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
8 active Lake District alerts
- ClosureChapel Stile footpath closed for retaining-wall riskPart of Footpath 543030 between Chapel Stile and Baysbrown campsite is closed because a retaining wall beside the path could collapse and material it supports could fall across the footpath.Official details
- ClosureStanley Ghyll Lower Falls footpath closed for rockfallThe section of Footpath 408037 leading towards Stanley Ghyll Lower Falls is closed because severe rockfall damage has made the path unstable and further rockfall remains a danger.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Lake District Tour Guide
Your drive to Brockhole Lakeshore Loop, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Lake District National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Brockhole: Lakeshore, Gardens and Play0:00 / 1:11
“You're nearing Brockhole on Windermere, where lakeshore paths, gardens and an adventure playground make a useful stop for a family break.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lake District Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Wray Castle: Grounds and Blelham Tarn
- Red Nab: A Walk to High Wray Bay
- Townend: Inside the Browne Family Home
- Stagshaw: The Champion Tree Trail
- 298 audio storiesacross Lake District’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, Eurasian Otter, Osprey, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 265 trails, 89 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Brockhole Lakeshore Loop
The route in shortThis is a circular loop of 1.5 km (0.
This is a circular loop of 1.5 km (0.93 miles) around the Brockhole on Windermere grounds, usually walked in about 25 to 30 minutes. It is the short Miles Without Stiles 8 accessibility circuit, graded easy at 2/10, and it is a level garden and lakeshore walk rather than a fell or summit outing.
The sequenceStart at the bottom of the main car park and take the left-hand track past the adventure…
Start at the bottom of the main car park and take the left-hand track past the adventure playground, then follow signs for the boats and lakeshore. Continue past the ticket office and along the lakeshore path, bear right at the wooden jetty and watersports area, then follow signs for the visitor centre and gardens while staying on the lower-level path. Pass the white summerhouse and covered picnic area, and the path returns you to the car park. The payoff comes early and often: open water views across Windermere, boats coming and going at the jetty, and maintained gardens with meadow and woodland edges on the way round.
Footing and gradientsThe circuit is level and step-free for most of its length, with short pitches of around 1:12.
The circuit is level and step-free for most of its length, with short pitches of around 1:12. Mobility scooter users should be on a class 2 or 3 machine. The main track climbing up to the Mawson Gardens and the visitor centre is steeper than 1:10, so treat that as an optional add-on rather than part of the loop. If you do go up, there is a step-free return route from the visitor centre back to the main car park.
Visitor centre or lakeshoreThat climb is the one real decision on the walk.
That climb is the one real decision on the walk. Stay low and you keep an easy, consistently gentle circuit with the best lake views. Head up and you reach the formal gardens, shop, cafe, toilets and exhibitions, at the cost of a steeper pull. Both options link back into the same loop, so you can decide when you get there.
Getting there and parkingBrockhole sits just off the A591 between Windermere and Ambleside, roughly 4 km from Windermere.
Brockhole sits just off the A591 between Windermere and Ambleside, roughly 4 km from Windermere. Postcode LA23 1QB, grid reference NY 38980 00906. Park in the main car park and begin at its lower end. Disabled parking bays are near the adventure playground and the visitor centre. Accessible toilets and a cafe are on site. Bus services 555 and 599 serve the area year-round, and boats call at the Brockhole jetty.
DogsDogs are welcome on the wider Brockhole on Windermere site, so they can join you on this loop.
Dogs are welcome on the wider Brockhole on Windermere site, so they can join you on this loop. Keep them under control around the visitor-centre grounds, the picnic areas and the busy lakeshore and jetty, where there are plenty of other people and boat traffic.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Lake District
81 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
13 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
76 sightingsOspreyMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
51 sightingsEuropean BadgerMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
233 sightingsMute SwanMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
176 sightingsGrey HeronMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Lake District. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
